Jailed Former R.S.A. President Zuma Pleads for Donations

In a surprise move, former President Jacob Zuma has turned to South Africans and his supporters to help him to fund his litany of court battles.

In a message sent out on Tuesday morning by the Jacob Zuma foundation which the former head of the state is a patron of, the call was made for donations via a Capitec Bank account.

The spokesperson of the foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, said the donations will cover all court battles of the former president.

“A humble call for legal fees support for former President Jacob G Zuma. We humbly request for donation support to help cover the legal fees of our patron,” says the poster asking for the donations.

Zuma who is serving a 15-month jail term for contempt of the Constitutional Court is engaged in a litany of litigations and is using a high-powered delegation led by Advocate Dali Mpofu SC and Advocate Thabani Masuku SC.

His court battle includes a rescission application with the Constitutional Court where he is fighting to be released from prison, arguing that he was jailed without a trial and that is unconstitutional in terms of local and international law.

Separately, Zuma is fighting to force the National Prosecuting Authority’s Advocate Billy Downer SC not to lead his prosecution as he claims Downer has legally and politically compromised himself.

In another long-running court battle, Zuma is facing 18 charges of corruption, money laundering, and fraud at the Pietermaritzburg High Court where the state alleges he had a corrupt role during the multi-billion arms procurement between 1998 and 1999.

On top of all these court battles, Zuma is facing a hefty bill of R18.2 million after it was ruled that the State was not obliged to fund him for his corruption trial and ordered him to pay back the money.